Spoon provided with means for discharge of material



June 4, 1957 v c. H. WEEMS 2,794,335

SPOON PROVIDED WITH MEANS FOR DISCHARGE OF MATERIAL Filed April 25, 1956ATTORNEYS,

United States Patent SPOON PROVIDED wrrn MEANS FOR DISCHARGE or MATERIALCharles H. Weems, Trumbull, Corn. Application April 23, 1956, Serial No.579,830 Claims. (CI. 65-12) This invention relates to a spoon providedwith means for discharging the material fiom the spoon, and has for anobject to provide a device of this character with improved means forremoving the material from the spoon at the position of use, andparticularly to provide a novel and simple construction of a device ofthis character which may be held in one hand and by a simple continuousoperation may be operated to remove the material from the bowl of thespoon and then scrape the material from the discharge means to free itfrom the device.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, I have devised theconstruction illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part ofthis specification. It is, however, to be understood the invention isnot limited to the specific details of construction and arrangementshown, but may embody various changes and modifications within the scopeof the invention.

In this drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the device;

Fig. 2 is a side view;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section substantially on line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the pivot means, and

Fig. 6 is an end view thereof.

The device is designed primarily for dipping up a certain amount ofshortening or similar materials, or semiliquids and like materials,such, for example, as butter, lard and similar grease-like materialswhich are diflicult to remove from the ordinary spoon without the use ofan additional element. 7

It comprises an elongated body member 10 which may be made of sheetmetal, sheet plastic, or any other suitable material, provided with abowl section 11 at one end forming a receptacle to receive the material,and a finger grip 12 at the other end. Along its opposite side edges areupright flanges 13 which at the bowl or receiving end 11 are plainupright flanges at substantially right angles to the base portion of thebowl, but at the remaining portion of the body the flanges includeinwardly extending overhanging portions 14 over and spaced above thebottom wall 15 to form a guide means for a pivot mounting for anoperating lever member 16. This member may also be formed of sheetmetal, sheet plastic or similar material, and comprises a body portion17, an upright forward end portion 18, and an upright finger grip 19 atits opposite end. Intermediate the body portion 17 and the grip 19 it isprovided at its opposite side edges with pivot lugs 20 which may beformed by lugs extending from the edges of the member and curved intoloops as shown in Fig. 6. These pivot lugs are located under theoverhanging portion 14 of the side flanges and between these overhangingportions and the bottom wall 15, as shown in Fig. 4, so that theypivotally connect the lever member 16 to the body member 10 and permitboth pivotal and swinging movement of this member 16 about these lugs aspivots, and also permit longitudinal sliding 2,194,335 Patented June 4,1957 Ice movement of this member on the top of the body member 10.

The forward upright wall 18, which as will presently be described, formsa pushing means for pushing the semi-liquid or grease-like material fromthe bowl 11, is preferably curved or formed on the arc of a circle withthe pivot lugs 20 as the center and depends from the forward end of thebody portion 17 of the lever so that its lower free edge 21 normallyrests on the bottom wall of the bowl 11 when this lever member is in theretracted position of Figs. 1 and 2. The body portion of this member maybe strengthened or stiffened by upwardly extending longitudinal ribs orbeads 22 pressed upwardly from the body portion 17, and also laterallyspaced to provide means for preventing slipping of the thumb or fingerof the operator from this member during operation, as will later bedescribed. It may also be further stiffened between the body portion andthe finger grip 19 by a similar transverse bead or rib 23. At itsforward end, or the discharge end of the bowl portion 11, the bodymember 10 is provided with a narrow transverse slot 24 closely adjacentthe free end or discharge end of the bowl, thus providing a narrow bar25 which forms a scraper means at the discharge end of the'bowl. Theslot 24 is sufficiently wider than the thickness of the curved uprightwall portion 13 of the operating lever member 16 to permit free movementof the wall 18 through the slot.

In operation, the lever member 16 is moved to its retracted position, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2. This may be done by gripping the rear portion ofthe body member in one hand with the fingers passing under this body andthe thumb resting on the inclined portion 17 of the lever member 16, andbetween the stiflening beads or ribs 22, which help to retain the thumbin proper position on this member. Then the bowl portion 11 may befilled with the material such, for example, as butter or lard or similargrease-like or shortening material indicated by the broken line 26, bydipping the forward end of the bowl into this material. Then theoperator by pushing forwardly on the inclined portion 17 will cause thelower edge 21 of the upright wall 18 to slide along the bottom wall ofthe bowl portion 11, pushing the material 26 to the free or dischargeend of the bowl over the slot 24 and bar 25. As the lower edge 21 of theupright wall 18 reaches the forward end of the bowl and a position overthe slot 24, pressure of the thumb on the portion 17 will swing thismember downwardly about its pivots 20, passing the forward wall 18downwardly through the slot 24, as shown in Fig. 3. This will cause theforward surface of the wall 18 to pass by the rear edge of the bar 25,which also is the forward edge of the slot, causing this bar to scrapeor free the material 26 from the forward surface of the wall 18, asindicated in Fig. 3, thus freeing the material from the device andpermitting it to drop into any location desired by the operator.

If desired, the forward ends of the overhanging portions 14 of the sideflanges may be bent downwardly, as indicated at 27, to form a stop meansfor the pivot lugs 20 as the material removing member 16 reaches itsforward position with the lower edge of the upright forward wall 18 overand in alignment with the slot 24 to prevent this member being carriedbeyond the slot by too rapid movement of the lever 16, and insures thatthe member 18 passes down through the slot 24 to properly remove thematerial from its forward surface instead of passing over the slot.

On reverse movement of the member 16 to shift it from its forwardposition, Fig. 3, to its retracted position of Figs. 1 and 2, all theoperator has to do is to shift his thumb from the body portion 17 to thefinger grip tions of advancing the member 16 to remove the material 26from the bowland scrape it from the forward surface of the front wall 18are performed in a single continuous operation by mere pressure of thethumb on the inclined wall 17 forwardly. This shifts the member 16forwardly and the pressure on this member also forces the wall 18downwardly into the slot 24 as soon as it reaches this slot. 0n thereverse movement, pressure downwardly and to the rear, or the right asviewed in the drawings, on the finger grip 19 will first swing themember 16-about its pivots to raise the front wall 18 and free it fromthe slot 24, and then in the same continuous operation to shift themember 16 to the retracted position of Figs. 1 and 2, and prepare it foruse in dipping up another portion of the grease-like material. The sidewalls of the flanges 13 at the sides of the bowl 11 may be calibrated,as indicated at 28, to give an indication of the amount of material inthe bowl, as a onehalf or other portion of a spoon, for example.

It will also be seen that the device is of very simple construction,involving only the two members, the body member 1% and the materialremoving or clearing member 16, and thus may be manufactured at lowcost.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, 1,

claim:

1. In a spoon of the character described an elongated body member havinga bowl to receive material at one end, means for discharge of materialfrom the bowl comprising a lever member pivotally mounted on top of thebody member, means connecting the lever to the body for sliding movementthereon toward and from the bowl end, said lever provided with anupright wall at itsv forward end adapted to push the material from thebowl as the lever is shifted forwardly, and scraper means at thedischarge end of the bowl over which said upright wall may pass bypivotal movement of the lever to remove the material from this wall.

2. In :a spoon of the character described an elongated body memberprovided with upright flanges along its opposite side edges forming abowl at one end to receive material, means for discharging the materialfrom the bowl comprising a lever member mounted on the top of the bodymember and including an upright front wall with its lower edge movablealong the bowl to discharge the material therefrom, scraper means at thedischarge end of the bowl, pivot lugs on opposite sides of the lever,and the top edges of the side flanges overhanging said lugs to securethe lever member to the body member for longitudinal sliding and pivotalmovement thereon to first slide said upright wall forwardlvto remove thematerial from the bowl and then permit pivotal movement of the lever topass said wall. over. the scraper means'to' remove the material fromsaid wall.

3. In a spoon of the character described an elongated body member havinga bowl at one end to receive material and a transverse slot closelyadjacent the discharge end of the bowl, said body member provided withlongitudinal flanges along its opposite side edges forming the sides ofthe bowl, a lever member on the top of the body member, cooperatingmeans on the lever and said flangesmounting the lever for longitudinalsliding and pivotal movements 011 the body member, said lever providedwith an upright wall at its forward end for movement along the bowl topush the material therefrom and then pass through the slot to remove thematerial from said wall, and a finger grip on the lever for firstremoving said upright wallfrom the slot and then shifting the levermember to a retracted position on the body memher.

4. In a spoon of the character described an elongated body member havinga material receiving bow'l at one end and a scraper means atthedischarge side of the bowl, a discharge means for the materialcomprising a lever member pivotally rand slidably mounted on top of thebody member, said lever including an upright front wall movable over thebowlto remove the material therefrom by sliding movement of the lever onthe body and then move past the scraper means by pivotal movement of thelever, and said lever including a finger grip to impart thereto thesliding and pivotal movements.

5. In a spoon of the character described, a body member provided with amaterial receiving bowl at one end and disehargeable at said end,scraper means at said discharge end, a discharge lever mounted forsliding and pivotal movement on said body provided with an upright wallmovable over the bowl to push the material there'- from and past thescraper means to remove the material from said wall, and said leverprovided with a finger grip to impart sliding and pivotal movements insucces-' sion to the lever to first remove the material'from the bowland then remove itv from said wall.

N 0 references cited.

